FOOTBALL

The National Flag Football Association of the Deaf (NFFAD) hosted their 4x4 tournament last Saturday at Clifton, Maryland with seven teams in contention. Several other formats that were initially planned to be part of this tournament were scrapped due to lack of teams.

The tournament started with Easy Game 4U and Silent Boys coming out of pool play undefeated and earning the #1 seed in bracket competition.

The bracket tournament was played in double-elimination format and Silent Boys advanced to the championship game defeating DMV Eagles 42-0, Recreational Team 14-8, and D.C. Senior Citizen 19-12.

Easy Game 4U was bounced from the championship bracket by D.C. Senior Citizen 22-13. Easy Game 4U then defeated BenJamin’ Squad #1 34-12 and Recreational Team 34-20 to set up a rematch with D.C. Senior Citizen in order to advance to the championship game. The rematch went to Easy Game 4U, 19-2 setting up a showdown between the two #1 seeds in the championship game.

In order for Easy Game 4U to win the championship, they would need to defeat Silent Boys twice. This was not the case as the Silent Boys silenced Easy Game 4U 20-6 to claim the 2017 NFFAD 4x4 Championship.

NFFAD has not announced the dates and location for the 2018 tournament. The committee is currently conducting a survey to plan for next year’s tournament. Visit NFFAD’s website here for more information on the 2017 tournament and survey.

Local football coach Devin DeHart refuses to let a hearing disability stop him from reaching out to young athletes.

DeHart, a 24-year-old Houma native, was born deaf, but he played football as young kid and remains close to the sport as a first-year assistant coach with the East Houma Steelers junior-varsity team (9-10 year old) in the Terrebonne Parish Recreation league.

DeHart uses sign language to signal in plays and communicate with the other coaches and players.

If games are close – and the 49ers have lost their first two C-USA games by an average of 6.0 points – then special teams can often come into play. Kicker Nigel Macauley has been anything but dependable, making just 2 of 7 field goal attempts (although one was tipped against Marshall). Arthur Hart has developed into one of the league’s top punters, averaging 42.9 yards per punt. His ability to drop the ball inside the 20 (he’s done it 10 times) is a valuable weapon.

SCHENECTADY — The Union College football team’s schedule features four first-time opponents. With that, it means learning more about them and more film study.

But the first-time team the Dutchmen face Saturday is different. They will be facing Gallaudet University at noon in Washington. Gallaudet’s team is almost entirely comprised of players who are deaf or hard of hearing.

As a hard-of-hearing football coach at D.C.’s Gallaudet University – the nation’s leading university for the deaf and hard of hearing – Bean constantly switches between the hearing world and the deaf world.

Atlanta Falcons fullback Derrick Coleman did not play in the fourth preseason game. Because he’s not injured, that probably means something, and for Coleman, it probably means the world.

Coleman’s story is well-documented, so I’ll just reiterate the highlights. He’s the NFL’s only deaf player. A single indiscretion kept him out of the league in 2016. From Super Bowl Champion to just another criminal defendant, he was found guilty 10 months ago of felony vehicular assault. It was an enormous fall from grace for a man that is widely admired for both his character and his abilities as a football player.